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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29506638">Like A Quilted Blanket</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildishFluff/pseuds/ChildishFluff'>ChildishFluff</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/curious_chrysanthemums/pseuds/curious_chrysanthemums'>curious_chrysanthemums</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age Regression/De-Aging, CG!Sam, Familial Fluff, Fluff, Little/Toddlerspace!Tubbo, Non-Sexual Age Play, Primary CG!Tommy, cg!puffy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 02:08:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,274</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29506638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChildishFluff/pseuds/ChildishFluff, https://archiveofourown.org/users/curious_chrysanthemums/pseuds/curious_chrysanthemums</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tubbo, Tommy, Sam, and Puffy weren't the quartet people expected to form after war, trauma, and exile, but the four did work well together. They were happy when put together, they were content.<br/>They weren't perfect, though. They weren't puzzle pieces that slotted perfectly together into one big, perfect picture. They felt more like a quilt, like pieces of fabric stitched together to make something that may not be pretty, but something that felt like home. They were all different and contrasted and clashed off one another, but they were sewn together and stuck, and they wouldn't have that any other way.<br/>They were a perfectly mismatched family.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cara | CaptainPuffy &amp; Sam | Awesamdude, Cara | CaptainPuffy &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo, Cara | CaptainPuffy &amp; TommyInnit, Sam | Awesamdude &amp; Toby Smith | Tubbo, Sam | Awesamdude &amp; TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>72</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>276</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Perfectly Mismatched</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! I wrote this fic with my friend, Elmer! We've been working on it for a bit, and it's been really fun so far! Please go support them, she's honestly the best and has been supporting my fics across multiple fandoms for like, a year-ish now? And they're just a cool person to talk to in general!<br/>This is mostly fluffy, the only warning I can think of is Tommy cursing a few times? Also just a lot of headcannon things that we put in, such as Tommy having longer hair and the whole hybrid thing with Sam and Puffy. I hope you guys like this, as it was probably one of the funnest things to write! It was supposed to be a short oneshot and we just got really into it and this 6000-word something happened. And there's more to come! This will be my first multichaptered DSMP fic! I'm trying a lot of new things with this project and I'm just really excited to see how you guys like my experimenting! I hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tubbo hadn't meant to regress, really. He was simply working at the hotel site with Sam and Puffy, waiting for his friend to return with more supplies when he felt his mind start to fog over. Maybe it was because he felt safe,<em> truly</em> safe, for the first time in a while.</p>
<p>Yeah, there were worries like the egg, and the risk of Dream getting out of the prison, but this was the safest he had been in a while.</p>
<p>It could've also been due to the fact that he felt he was with the most supportive people in the server. He was with Tommy, his best friend who had been through everything with him, throughout thick and thin. Even when they went through things and they betrayed one another, he had trust that Tommy would come back to him, and he hope Tommy trusted that he would come back too. </p>
<p>He brushed his bangs back a bit as he collected more flowers, carefully picking them out from the grass, trying not to get distracted by the bees buzzing around him for pollen, as they swarmed around in the slightly warm, early spring air. </p>
<p>If Tubbo was honest with himself, he'd say this was his favorite month. Early May just after the rain had finished coming down every other day and the flowers had bloomed<em> just enough</em> to be able to be picked. It left a warm breeze that grazed his face every so often and made him feel so safe, and made the world seem so incredibly big around him as it slowly came back to life.</p>
<p>The pretty weather often left him with a childlike wonder, lingering in the back of his mind as he struggled to remain a 'big kid', this lingering fog making him curious about the name of that flower, or what the insect that crawled past him on the sidewalk was called. He never gave into that childlike wonder, though, not anymore at least. </p>
<p>But, for the first time since the pre-election L'manburg era, he was gonna fall into the childish fog, and regress with the people he trusted most.</p>
<p>He put the flowers he had gathered in his hands into the small wicker basket he had, the handle resting comfortably on the inside the his elbow, full of red poppies and a few roses. His fingers were strained red, just a bit at the tips from when he had accidentally crushed one of the petals when a bird swooped down from above. </p>
<p>He hated crushing flowers, ruining them and their pristine pretty petals, but he knew that's what would be happening to them anyways in the end, the flower petals were being used for dye and the seeds would be replanted into new ones. It was silly to feel bad for hurting a flower and crushing it, but he couldn't help it really. </p>
<p>A small buzz flew by his ear and he paused in case a bee landed on him somehow, slowly turning his head, his brown eyes blinked owlishly at the bee that buzzed around his shoulder. He wasn't sure why it was there, and he couldn't place a finger on why it might be, but there it was a pleasant buzzing around him for a few seconds before the creature flew off towards another flower.</p>
<p>He giggled at the assumption that the bee may have thought <em>he</em> was a flower and refrained from clapping his hands in delight at the idea. He would love to be a pretty flower that made someone smile. He heard a feminine voice come from the forest behind him and pushed the small thoughts away. He turned in the direction of the forest just slightly when he saw the sheep hybrid step out of the woods and smile at him.</p>
<p>"There you are, Tubbo! We were wondering where you had gone off to."</p>
<p>"Hello, Puffy," he replied, returning to his job of picking flowers (the thing he was <em>supposed</em> to be doing instead of looking at bees). "I just needed to find a good patch of flowers." He explained his reason for wandering so far off, feeling a bit bad about disappearing without telling them where he was headed. </p>
<p>"Ooh, you've got lots of flowers there. Almost enough, good job," Puffy didn't comment on the fact that he was obviously distracted and not doing what he was supposed to when she showed up, instead complimenting him on what he <em>did</em> do right. The simple praise caused happiness to bubble in his chest, making him smile.</p>
<p>He distracted himself by looking around as Puffy replied, admiring the area around him. He stood in a little meadow, his painted hard hat set off to the side as he picked the requested flowers. There was a small forest next to the area he was working in, and the sound of water let him know that there was probably a lake within it. The atmosphere felt calm, the weather was pretty, and he was picking flowers. </p>
<p>It was almost as if Mother Nature <em>wanted </em>him to slip. </p>
<p>Puffy's white hair moved slightly in the wind as she smiled, closing her eyes comfortably, the sun kissing her face and small, almost non-existent freckles peppering her skin ever so slightly. She looked at Tubbo with a fond look in her soft, hazel eyes that made him want to slip even further, it was one of the comforts that seemed so motherly coming from her. </p>
<p>He smiled at her slightly, a small toothy grin flashing as he picked a few more flowers, making sure they were the right size and shape as he plucked them from the ground and put them into the small basket. Once he had finally collected the 64 flowers that were needed for the dye, he quickly moved to Puffy's side and glanced at her, waiting for her to make the first move in going back, or to just do something. </p>
<p>Before she got the chance to make the first move, Sam peeked through the trees of the forest, glancing around wildly for his 'missing' friends. His eyes landed on the teenager and sheep creature, and he smiled a bit. "Sorry, I got worried," he apologized, approaching them. </p>
<p>"I was only gone a few minutes," Puffy chuckled, leaning down to retrieve Tubbo's hard hat for him once she realized he didn't have it on. </p>
<p>"Yeah, but he was gone a while! I thought that maybe you couldn't find him or something!" Sam defended, watching as she settled the hat on Tubbo's head. The playful arguing between the two made them sound like loving parents, their demeanor and protection of the boy only adding to this feeling. They cared so much about him going off by himself for a while. They weren't angry with him for disappearing, though. Instead, they just wanted to make sure he was safe. </p>
<p>That was different then most adult figures in his life. They either didn't care what he did or what danger he was in, or they were constantly yelling at him for simply living life. He liked this treatment better, surely, but maybe <em>not</em> how small their actions made him feel. </p>
<p>Puffy gently grabbed Tubbo's hand, dragging the short boy by her side, as she moved over towards Sam, playfully bickering with the creeper hybrid as they walked through the forest and towards the building site of the hotel. A content warm feeling filled the boy's chest as he walked in the middle of the two. </p>
<p>Soon enough, they had made their way out of the thick forest and into the light of yet another open field, that led outside of the forest and into the open land of the construction site. Tubbo moved the basket from his arm to his hands and he held it out to Sam proudly, who smiled at him, just as proud of him as the boy was of himself, for his accomplishment. </p>
<p> "Thank you Tubbo, it will help a lot." He said, making Tubbo's face light up just a bit brighter at the praise. They continued their journey back to the building site as a trio, talking about whatever came to mind as they enjoyed each others company. </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Tommy sighed in relief as the sign for the hotel construction site, reminding him and everyone else reading to wear their hard hats, came into view. He had strayed pretty far off from the main SMP area in order to get supplies so they could start building a section of the hotel, and he was exhausted. He was sure he had everything they could possibly need and then some, so there was that.</p>
<p>He had walked, the whole time, too! Sam was against stealing other people's things, <em>including</em> horses, so travelling by foot was the only option as of right now. "Tubboooo?" he held out his friend's name as he made his way up the wooden steps that led up the building site. Upon further inspection, the teenager quickly found that not only was his best friend gone, but so was Puffy and Sam. "What the fuck?" </p>
<p>He continued to look around, his eyes eventually falling on his hard hat, which currently sat on the side of the path where the group had decided jobs earlier that day before splitting up. He had forgotten to bring the communication device with him, as he had been asked. "Oh, yeah," he mumbled, bending down to pick up the hat, his hair falling in his face. His hair currently hanging at his shoulders. He hadn't had a haircut since before his exile, all the wars and events making it so that he couldn't find the time to get it done. </p>
<p>As he stood up straight, he pushed his hair back behind his shoulders, before securing the helmet on his head, turning it on and pressing the push-to-speak button. The whole point of these things was to contact each other when they needed it, right?</p>
<p>"Hey, where the fuck are ya?!"He yelled into his mic, just a bit too loud, though he had no idea that he did. He waited for a response, receiving a delayed one from Puffy a minute later. </p>
<p>"We're on our way back, we went looking for Tubbo. Well I did, and then Sam decided to follow me." </p>
<p>He relaxed slightly at the calm voice and nodded, before realizing she couldn't see him and giving a quick verbal response. "Oh, okay."</p>
<p> Sam interjected quickly before they could turn their headsets off,   "Don't be so loud with the helmets, okay Tommy? You could break the mic, and you scared the shit out of Tubbo, he almost fell over." </p>
<p>A vague "I did not" could be heard from the other end of the line before the audio cut off. Tommy burst into laughter, taking a moment to calm down before replying. "Okay, sorry about that." </p>
<p>He switched off the hard hat before receiving a response, looking out for his friend's arrival until he spotted them a bit later, only a little ways away. He pulled off his hat, setting it back on the path, before jogging down the steps. He realized that he still had his backpack full of supplies on, pulling it off by the straps and abandoning it on the stairs. </p>
<p>He pulled a hair tie out of the bag as Tubbo, Puffy, and Sam got closer, pulling his hair into a low ponytail with a simple red band. "Hello, my frieeeend," Tommy continued his habit of dragging out his words, greeting Tubbo when he was close enough, throwing his arm around his shoulder. Before Tubbo could reply, he dramatically sighed, "I missed you, in the mines, y'know. You should've come with me, instead of picking flowers. Mining by myself is <em>boring</em>." </p>
<p>"And they call Tubbo the clingy one," Puffy muttered, crossing her arms as she watched the two teenagers with amusement clear on her face. Sam went to store the newly-gathered supplies away when he heard Tubbo's response to Tommy's over dramatic complaining. </p>
<p>
  <em>A giggle. </em>
</p>
<p>A soft, childlike giggle that could make anyone smile. A giggle that would only ever come from Little Tubbo. Tommy gasped, pulling his arm away from his friend and looking at him with wide eyes. </p>
<p>Tommy smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners as the boy giggled more at him. Puffy looked between the two in obvious confusion as Tubbo started giggling and Tommy was making possibly one of the most absurd faces she had ever seen. </p>
<p> "Hey, Bo." Tommy said, his voice higher than normal and full of energy, making Tubbo slip further and giggle more as he leaned into the boy. Tommy wrapped his arm around him again, looking up at Puffy and glancing over at Sam before explaining. "He's small, you guys!" he sounded genuinely excited and happy for his friend, over such a simple thing. </p>
<p>Sam took a moment to think back a while back, to when Tubbo could often be seen roaming around with other L'manburg citizens, playing and giggling just as he was now. He hadn't seen Tubbo act that childlike since before the election, all that time ago. "Oh, sweetie," he smiled, speaking softly as he forgot his job of putting away the supplies, approaching Tubbo. "When was the last time you regressed, hmm?" </p>
<p>Tubbo only gave a sad look, letting Tommy explain. "It's been a while since he's regressed happily, that's for sure. I think it's been a while all together, honestly. It's hard to find time to be a kid when you're in the middle of a war." he shrugged, before bringing his attention back to his little friend. </p>
<p>Sam and Puffy's hearts seemed to shatter at the same time when those words were spoken, reminding them that they were dragged through all that traumatizing crap as <em>children</em>. They were reminded that they never really got to be kids in the first place. While it was safe to do so, the two protective figures wanted to let them be kids, even if it was just for a bit.</p>
<p>Even if that meant taking care of a baby every once in a while. </p>
<p>Sam glanced at Puffy, watching as her head moved to glance over at him as well. He nodded and she nodded back, her white curls moving slightly with her head. </p>
<p> "How little are you, Tubs?" Sam's head whipped over to look at Tommy he was now holding the shorter boy in his arms. The small brunette just whined in response and Tommy nodded as if he somehow understood what that meant. </p>
<p>"I'm gonna take care of him, you guys can continue building the hotel or some-" He paused for a spilt second, his eyes panicked as he obviously tried to think of a replacement for the curse word he normally would've used."...thing, if you want." He finished awkwardly, just a second too late. Puffy started at the younger teen incredulously, like he had just said the dumbest thing in the history of the entire world. </p>
<p>"First off, there's a little in your presence, cease the cursing please," Puffy began, coming closer to them, standing in front of them like Sam was. "And, it's sweet that you care about him, but children shouldn't be taking care of children all by themselves. Let us help you, Tommy."</p>
<p>Tommy pulled a confused and curious look, glancing between the two adults, who both seemed to be on a completely different page then he was. "Um, okay," he was used to taking care of himself and Tubbo, that's how it's been for a while, until they were separated upon the start of his exile. Their only other stable adult figure had been Wilbur during the early days of L'manburg, and even then, the president was busy often. </p>
<p>Tommy was the only person Little Tubbo could go too, because no one else wanted to put in the effort to help take care of the boy when he did regress. "He's really small, maybe 1 or 2, I don't know what made him slip so little," he held Tubbo close to him, very hesitant to comply when Sam reached out to take him. He was very protective of Tubbo, and that was a evident and obvious fact. </p>
<p>"You can trust me, Tommy. I promise," Sam spoke in a reassuring tone, "Plus, I'm sure carrying a teenage-sized toddler gets tiring. I could help out," Sam now talked in a convincing voice as Tommy's guard dropped a bit, the longer-haired teenager letting the creeper hybrid take the little. </p>
<p>He kept his eyes on Tubbo, watching him closely, still nervous to trust someone else to the things he normally would. He felt himself calm down when Tubbo didn't protest, settling into Sam's arms and looking up at him with innocent and curious eyes. </p>
<p>Tubbo whined and curled into Sam's embrace, the man holding the boy tightly in his arms and cooing at him. "Hi, baby." </p>
<p> The younger boy made a high whining noise and looked up at him with blurry brown eyes. Sam felt a sudden rock of parental instinct in his stomach, it was hot and it burned him, but it also caused a rush of comforting warmth throughout his whole body. </p>
<p>"Hey, bubba." Puffy said, looking at the boy from behind Sam, standing on her tiptoes to peek at the regressor. Tommy watched the scene, noticing how soft and gentle they were with Tubbo. He knew he'd still be careful, but he decided that he trusted them to take care of his friend, at least for now. He felt a sense of relief knowing that he wasn't all alone in this. </p>
<p>Puffy looked to Tommy as Sam distracted himself with babying the boy in his arms, whispering sweet compliments and praise to him mindlessly. "Where does he keep his little stuff? Does he have toys, or anything?" </p>
<p>"I have a stash of his stuff at my house," Tommy remembered, pulling his ponytail over his shoulder and fidgeting with the end of it as he spoke, curling his hair around his fingers. "It's stored in a chest in the basement, but it's there." He finished explaining. </p>
<p>"We'll go there then," Puffy decided. "I'll lock up the supplies and close down the building site for the day," she announced, taking over the job Sam was gonna do. "By the way, good work, boys." she walked off, leaving the three boys to their own devices for the time being.</p>
<p>Tommy smiled, taking the praise with pride in his chest, while Tubbo wasn't even paying attention to her, distracted by Sam's silly faces. Tommy was glad to hear Tubbo laughing again. "Hey, Little Bee, what're you up to?" he caused Tubbo to turn his head, the baby looking up at Tommy. He didn't reply, looking up at Sam instead. </p>
<p>"That means he wants you to talk for him," Tommy told Sam, "He must be to little to talk right now."</p>
<p>Sam blinked, shifting the boy in his arms and looking at him. The little blinked back at him a few times before yawning, Sam smiling at him and bouncing him a bit, "I was just telling him how cute he was. Such a sweet boy, so little." He said, running a hand through the small teen's hair, the other hand holding the boy up. </p>
<p> Tommy smiled at the two, moving to brush Tubbo's hair out of his face, watching as the boy glanced at him and made a happy noise when he realized who he was. "Yes, yes, it's your beloved Tommy," the teenager chucked, leaning down to kiss his forehead. Tubbo bowed his head a bit, like a kitten who wanted to be pet would. </p>
<p>When he went to stand up straight, though, he felt a tug on his hair. Immediately, the mentally-older teenager looked down to the little, who was playing with his hair, pulling on it just as a real baby would. He didn't have the heart to be annoyed or upset with him, only giving an amused chuckle. </p>
<p>"Let's not do that, sweetheart," Sam's softly pulled his hand away from Tommy's ponytail, letting the other teenager free, his words getting a pout out of the baby, who tilted his head slightly. "Pulling on his hair can hurt him, silly." Sam explained in a soft tone, looking over to Puffy, who was now closing up the chests and storing away the hard hats.</p>
<p>Tubbo immediately looked up to Tommy with panicked eyes, which was odd to see due to him also looking sleepy. "It's okay, though! I'm not hurt," Tommy assured, kissing his forehead again as he noticed Puffy heading their way. </p>
<p>Tubbo looked at Puffy with wide eyes, staring at her long white curls and making grabby hands at them, whining loudly as they were out of reach. </p>
<p>Puffy looked at him fondly, another amused smile clear on her face, getting closer to them and letting the boy tug at her fluffy hair lightly. It didn't hurt as much when he pulled since it was so long. "Hi, bubba." She said, holding her arms out. Sam hesitated, scared that she wouldn't be able to hold him, before finally giving him to her and blinking a bit when she moved him to just one arm.</p>
<p>"I'm stronger then you think," she said playfully, bouncing the little in her arms, just as Sam had done. Sam only laughed. They all seemed to make each other happier, that's why Tommy and Tubbo liked this group so much. They felt safe, and it was fun. </p>
<p>Tubbo distracted himself, trusting the sheep hybrid to keep hold of him, using one hand to play with her hair, and the other to suck on his thumb. "Hey, hey, hey," she corrected, pulling his hand away from his mouth. "We'll get you a paci when we get to Tommy's house, but no thumb sucking, okay?" </p>
<p>Tubbo pouted, responding by burying his head in the woman's chest, letting out a grumpy whine. "He gets a little extra fussy and grumpy when he's sleepy," Tommy whispered to Sam, who nodded. </p>
<p>"We'd better get to your house quick, then," Sam suggested. Tommy took this as his cue to lead his friends to his house, which was just a few minutes away. It only took that long for Tubbo to doze off in Puffy's arms, though. </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Tubbo woke up blearily, blinking his eyes in an attempt to see clearly. He yawned and stretched his arms as he sat up, whimpering when his shoulder popped, not expecting it to do so. </p>
<p>"Toms?" He asked into the air, his voice small and high as he took in his surroundings. He was in a large blue sweater, and he had been lightly tucked into a bed with a yellow comforter. Next to the bed, was a white side table that had a potted dandelion on it, as well as a small leather bound red book resting on the corner of it. </p>
<p>Sun shone through the window and cast yellow beams across the dark wooden floor. He took in the sound of birds chirping from outside, lifting his head a little and seeing thick forest around the building he occupied. He was not in Snowchester, that was for sure. He heard muffled voices from down the hall. </p>
<p>He whined loudly and attempted to communicate he was up, to no avail as the voices were too far away. He whimpered, his bottom lip wobbling as he had no idea where <em>he</em> was and no idea where his caregiver was.</p>
<p>Eventually, his cries were answered when the door of the room he was in creaked open just a bit, his longer haired friend poking his head inside the previously lonesome room. Tubbo face lit up in response to his friend's arrival. "Heyyy, buddy," Tommy spoke quietly and carefully, not knowing if Tubbo was still little or not. When he was met with grabby hands and a pouty face, he knew his answer. </p>
<p>"Good morning to you too, then," he chuckled, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. He came forward, slowly approaching the little and sitting on the bed. Almost immediately, Tubbo shuffled over to sit by his side, leaning into him. Tommy wrapped his arm around his shoulder, using his other hand to brush the hair out of Tubbo's face. "How small are you now, little bee? You up to talking now?" </p>
<p>"Mhm," Tubbo hummed, still a bit sleepy. </p>
<p>"How little are you, bee?" Tommy repeated his question, chuckling a bit when he realized he completely missed the question. </p>
<p>Tubbo lifted his head and stared at his hands in contemplation. He lifted three fingers before putting down one, after a few seconds lifting it again, and then lifting another before putting it down again, looking confused and staring up at Tommy in distress. </p>
<p>Tommy smiled lightly at the biologically older boy and kissed his head, "It's okay to not know Bubba. You can talk, right?"</p>
<p> Tubbo nodded his head against Tommy's shoulder with a yawn. "Mhm, I can talk." His voice was high and he stumbled on words slightly, as he hadn't talked much all morning, but he could obviously speak. Much better than yesterday, that's for sure. </p>
<p>"Good job baby, using your words. I'm so proud of you." He praised the boy, kissing his cheek lightly and watching as he flushed and whined, leaning away like a child with an embarrassing mother would do. Tommy then stopped kissing his face only for Tubbo to whine and lean forward, obviously wanting the kisses but not wanting to admit it.</p>
<p>"Oh?" Tommy seemed amused, "The baby bee <em>likes</em> kisses?" </p>
<p>Tubbo's eyes widened as he tried to lean away, only to be attacked by a bunch of kisses all over his face, causing him to burst out into giggles. Eventually, Tommy stopped, leaving him red in the face and smiley. "You're silly, Tommy." Tubbo decided, shaking his head dramatically.</p>
<p>"I am very much aware of that," Tommy smiled cheekily, showing off his teeth. Tubbo noticed that he was dressed the same as yesterday. Jeans, his famous shirt, with his hair pulled back. He reached out, pulling on his ponytail, giggling. "Hey! I know you're big enough to know that that hurts!" Tommy scolded, pushing his ponytail back from it's previous position on his shoulder, allowing it to flow down his neck and upper back, making it so that Tubbo couldn't reach it easily anymore. </p>
<p>Tubbo pouted, "Sorryyy, Tommy." he held out his words hopefully, looking up at him with eyes he knew looked all to innocent to stay mad at. Tommy smiled at him, </p>
<p>"You're okay, just don't do that again please," He told him, before jumping into his next question. "What do you wanna do after we eat and get you dressed for the day?" </p>
<p>Tubbo looked down at his hands and bit his lip in thought, unsure what to do. "Um, Tom's? Where are we?" He asked, genuinely not knowing how to respond to the question without knowing where in the world they were at the moment.</p>
<p>Tommy blinked a bit and smiled, shaking his head, "We're are Captain Puffy's house, baby. You've been sleeping in her bed all morning, it's almost ten."</p>
<p>"Oh," Tubbo nodded a bit, "Can we go play outside?" </p>
<p>"I think that's doable, buddy. Let's get you dressed, yeah?" Tommy stood up, letting Tubbo remain on the bed. "I brought some of your little clothes from my house," he added, going over to a bag in the corner of the room, digging out a pair of black overalls and a yellow sweater. Tubbo was very obsessed with the whole bee theme when he wasn't as little as he was the day prior. </p>
<p>"Will this work?" Tommy questioned, holding up the outfit, earning an excited nod and grabby hands from the little. "Pog. Okay, stand up for me..."</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Once Tubbo was dressed, Tommy brought him out to the main area of Puffy's house, via piggyback ride, dropping him off in the kitchen. A plate of yummy-looking chocolate chip pancakes waited for the regressor at the table. They even had whipped cream on them! </p>
<p>"Look who's uppp!" Tommy spoke in a sing-songy voice, helping Tubbo balance on his feet before the little ran off to the table to eat. There was a sippy cup of apple juice waiting for him, too! Tubbo didn't know why he was so happy about this, but he was. </p>
<p>Sam glanced at the little, his two eyes softening when he saw the little boy, a small coo leaving his mouth at his new attire. "Hey, kid." He said, his tone slipping a bit higher as he addressed the small regressor. Tubbo giggled at the name and tumbled over to Sam, gripping his sleeve gently. </p>
<p>"Hi, Sammie." He replied, looking up at the taller man and melting his entire heart in the process. The door made a loud creaking noise, as if opened, and all the men turned their heads to the door, where Puffy stood, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows and a load of wood underneath her arms.</p>
<p>"Hello, boys." she greeted. </p>
<p>Sam and Tommy went to welcome her home, but she was quick to drop everything and make her way over to Tubbo, pulling him into a hug and lifting him off the ground. "Hiiii, little one," she bounced him on her hip, earning giggles from the regressor.</p>
<p>"Hello, Puffie!" he said. </p>
<p>"So, what are we doing today, hmm?" she asked, looking between Tommy and Sam. </p>
<p>"Tubbo requested to play outside," Tommy told him, and she nodded, </p>
<p>"Sounds like fun." </p>
<p>"You know what else is fun?" Sam jumped into the conversation, trying to take Tubbo from Puffy, "Eating breakfast!" </p>
<p>Tubbo latched onto Puffy's side, his arms resting around her neck comfortably as she took him to the table, resting him down in a chair and scooting it in all the way so he didn't make a mess. Tubbo smiled at the food in front of him but whined when he tried to pick up his fork and his current lack of coordination made it fall.</p>
<p>Tommy blinked a bit, watching the little struggle to hold a fork, before smiling fondly and making his way over to the table, sitting down and taking the fork from him, inducing a huff from the little, looking at the older boy with pleading eyes as he stared at the utensil. "Toms?"</p>
<p>"I'm helping you, Tubs. You're so little, we wouldn't want you making a mess," Tommy reached over, starting to cut the soft pancakes with the fork. </p>
<p>"B-but i wan' do it m'self," Tubbo pouted, quite frustrated with the situation. As he was busy pouting, Sam and Puffy took their seats at the table, opposite to Tommy. </p>
<p>"I know, but you're a little to clumsy for that. It's okay to need help," Tommy assured, stabbing a few pieces of the pancake and lifting up the bite of food to his mouth. Tubbo stubbornly took the food, knowing that he didn't have many options here. "If you don't stop pouting, I'm gonna steal your food." Tommy claimed once Tubbo had taken a bite. </p>
<p>As if to challenge him, Tubbo kept pouting, shocked when Tommy actually gathered a few small pieces of the pancake and shoved it in his mouth. Just as usual, Puffy and Sam watched the situation with amusement, and maybe a little impression. Tommy was really good with Tubbo, just the right amount of serious balanced with playfulness, it just worked. </p>
<p>They just worked well together. </p>
<p>"Tommy!" Tubbo shouted, giggling, "Dats mine." </p>
<p>"Mhm, but it got you to stop pouting, didn't it?" Tommy raised his eyebrows, and Tubbo just stared back at him before eventually talking. </p>
<p>"I wan' some more, please," Tubbo ignored his question, looking down at the plate of food. </p>
<p>"Of course, of course," Tommy chuckled, fond smile clear across his face as he jumped into the process of feeding Tubbo. Things continued on like that for a few minutes, the adults and Tommy joking around with the little as they ate breakfast. </p>
<p>This was just the start to another wonderful day. </p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Once they had finished eating, which took a total of about twenty-five minutes, more or less, Puffy stood up, stretching her arms up and tossing her thick hair over her shoulder as she moved to a dresser, right in the corner of the living room, collecting a blue piece of fabric and swiftly pushing her hair back. </p>
<p> Tubbo observed her movements, watching as she gathered and pulled the white curls back with a bandana, so they stayed out of her face. Puffy then turned, obviously looking for something else, a smile coming to her face when she saw the little boy staring at her and chewing on his fingers lightly.</p>
<p>"Tommy" She asked, causing the blonde boy to glance in her direction. </p>
<p>"Yes?" Tommy replied, curious as to what she could possibly need. </p>
<p>"Does Tubbo have anything that he could use to chew on instead of his sweet little fingers?"</p>
<p>Tubbo flushed and quickly moved his fingers from his mouth with a whine. Tommy smiled and shook his head, standing up and going to his backpack swiftly, searching through the third-largest pocket and pulling out a small chewy necklace that he clipped onto Tubbo's shirt, watching as the boy quickly placed one of the chewy beads in his mouth. </p>
<p>Sam spoke next, startling everyone, his creeper mask wasn't on his face and his dark green eyes were seemingly staring into each and everyone in the room. "Are we ready to go?" he pondered. </p>
<p>After a few sounds of agreement, they headed outside, Tubbo holding Tommy's hand and immediately dragging him over to the first patch of flowers he saw. "Daisy," he said simply, letting go of his friend's hand and pointing to the plant, toddling over to it and plucking it from the ground. Puffy and Sam came to stand on either side of Tommy, watching the little pick the flower.</p>
<p>"Yeah, that's a daisy, Baby Bee," Tommy told him, "You're such a smart baby." </p>
<p>Tubbo smiled at the praise, handing Tommy the flower. "For you," he said, "Pretty flower for Toms." </p>
<p>Tommy's heart melted as he looked at the sweet boy. "Thank you, Tubbo," he smiled. Tubbo looked at the flower, and then at Tommy's hair, reaching out to take it from him. The mentally older of the two seemed confused, but didn't stop him. He watched as Tubbo stuck the flower behind his ear, tucking the stem under his hair so that it looked like a pretty hair piece. </p>
<p>The little bounced in place, clapping his hands and giggling at his creativity. </p>
<p>Tommy flushed at the gesture, and if the boy weren't little he definitely would have had a more dramatic and loud reaction, but he simply let a smile grace his lips and his eyes softened.   </p>
<p>"Thank you, baby." He said gently, his voice tender, far more than it normally was. He quickly collected himself and straightened out his spine properly. Puffy watched from beside him with a knowing look in her eyes, </p>
<p> "He's just precious, isn't he?" She asked him, watching as he nodded and glanced at her all knowing expression, giving a small scowl at her teasing eyes. Sam moved to crouch down, gaining the attention of both the two other caregivers, as well as the little who looked up at the creeper hybrid in wonder. </p>
<p>" 'ammie?" The little's ever so small tone spoke up. </p>
<p>A easy open mouth smile was on the man's face as he nodded, "Hey, baby bo." he greeted. </p>
<p>"Flower?" Tubbo bent down, picking another plant from the patch of grass they good in and offering it to the caregiver. </p>
<p>"Thank you, Baby Bee," Sam took it, smile still on his face as he tucked the flower stem behind his ear, just as Tubbo did to Tommy. Puffy didn't need to ask for a flower for Tubbo to run over and offer one, the other hybrid wearing it in her hair just as the other two had. </p>
<p>Just as he had done with Tommy, he clapped his hands and bounced in place a bit, giggling happily before jumping into his next playful and childish idea. </p>
<p>The rest of the day went on with adorable antics like this, Tubbo dragging the caregivers around and creating fun little games for them to play. There was specifically lots of flower picking and animal chasing. </p>
<p>The little couldn't help the fact that bee's were distracting and flowers were pretty.</p>
<p>All of them could say that they were happy, though. No matter the amount of inconvenient bee-related detours the toddler insisted were necessary. Tubbo was happy running around and being little, <em>openly</em>, for the first time in a while. He felt <em>safe</em> with his new family, which is more then he could say for many others in his life. </p>
<p>And the three of them were happy to care for him. </p>
<p>They were happy with their flower hair pieces and Tubbo's bee chasing. They were content with flipping pancakes and filling sippy cups for him. They liked life as it was in the moment, satisfied with the new dynamic this odd match-up of a group brought. Even though no one would expect them to split off in the little quartet they did, it worked for them. </p>
<p>And when something works, you stick with it. </p>
<p>When people click, they stick together. </p>
<p>And these four clicked perfectly, they worked together well. </p>
<p>They weren't perfect. They weren't puzzle pieces that slotted perfectly together into one big, perfect picture. They felt more like a quilt, like pieces of fabric stitched together to make something that may not be pretty, but something that felt like home. Something that felt like family. </p>
<p>They were like a soft piece of fabric with fluffy lining. Made of a rough patterned piece, a texture piece embroidered with flowers, and a flowy piece that felt like silk. They were all different and contrasted and clashed off one another, but they were sewn together and stuck, and they wouldn't have that any other way.</p>
<p>They were different, but they cared for each other because of the threads that tied them to one another. </p>
<p>
  <em>They were sewn together, like a perfectly mismatched family. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Perfectly Content</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>elmer and I decided to be cool asf and conjure up a new chapter for y'all-<br/>seriously though, I hope you guys like it. the only warnings I can think of is a little trying to repress regression/hide it (and being terrible at it). We decided to make Tommy a little too, but dw, we'll see more of CG!Tommy throughout this story, I'm sure.<br/>We've been having a lot of fun writing this together and we're even planning to write another, separate fic (also agere and for this fandom!) soon. So,,,look forward to that ig. I'm really excited for what's to come in this little fic of ours, it's been so great brainstorming and working with Elmer, honestly. And I hope you guys like the stuff we make together!<br/>enjoy!<br/>-Apple</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tommy woke up blearily, his head fussy and a light blue thin cotton blanket thrown over his body, seemingly haphazardly. </p><p>He stretched his arms out before bringing one hand to rub at his eye, trying to get rid of the fogginess from his brain, as the other gripped the couch beneath him. A small, low whine came from the back of his throat when the fog in his head refused to part, leaving a cloud in his brain and making him feel oh so small. He heard voices coming from the dining room, but he didn't want to sit up and face them, realizing that he must've been the last one to wake up. </p><p>He heard Tubbo and Sam talking to one another and heard Puffy humming, probably doing housework. His dirty and sweaty shirt clung to him and his jeans felt uncomfortable around his hips, where the denim brushed against his hip bone a bit too much for his liking. He finally found it within himself to sit up, trying not to think about how messy his hair must be or how sleepy and small he must look compared to them, it made him feel uneasy.</p><p>He was a little annoyed that they let him sleep in late, he wasn't even supposed to stay the night! Neither was Sam or Tubbo, to be fair, but Puffy seemed to like having them around. She was always offering them a spot in the guest rooms and insisting she let them eat at her house after working at the construction site for the day. </p><p>She said she felt better knowing they were safe in her home. And they couldn't say no to a gesture so sweet. She cared about them enough to want to be close to them as much as possible, and Tommy would admit that feeling of protection made him feel just a bit safer.</p><p>He prepared himself to stand up, stretching a bit as he heard the voices of his friends get more clear as he became more aware of his surroundings. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get the long and wavy locks to stop looking like a complete mess. "Tommy!" Tubbo was the first to greet him, cutting off everyone and motioning for his friend to come inside the dining room and kitchen area, where they all stood around talking as Puffy made breakfast. </p><p>Puffy flipped a pancake and he glanced over, glad that they were having softer food before shaking himself off and collecting his thoughts."Hey, Tubbo." He said in a odd joking voice, extending the last syllable of his friends name. He stood up, or at least attempted to, cursing himself when he had to grab the couch due to his wobbly knees. Tubbo, who had opened his mouth to respond to Tommy quickly shut it as he watched the boy in concern. </p><p>"You good, man?" Tommy looked up and gave a light thumbs up, stabilizing himself. </p><p>"Yeah, I'm good, I just stood up too fast." </p><p> It was only half of a lie really. He didn't wanna admit that he was clumsier due to waking up feeling small, and that was the best he could come up with on the spot. </p><p>As he stood up and entered the kitchen, he wondered why today of all days was when his littlespace decided to come back. He hadn't even told Sam and Puffy about it, and avoided the topic with Tubbo whenever he tried to bring it up. </p><p>Only a few people knew of Tommy's regression, he had always been more secretive about it than Tubbo had. Instead of running around and playing with his friends all around the SMP as his friend enjoyed, he spent quiet days cuddled up next to Wilbur and Niki in the caravan. And at some point amongst the war and conflict, he had dropped the coping mechanism and turned to taking care of his friend instead. </p><p>Protecting Tubbo helped him too, he liked taking care of him, it was coping skill within itself. But recently, after spending so much time with Sam and Puffy, who protected him and acted as parental figures day to day, it seemed the faded and forgotten headspace was closing back in, slowly but surely. </p><p>And now, it was attacking him and downing him in a kiddie pool full of stuffed animals and baby babbles. And he didn't know how to push it away or how to tell his friends what he was going through. </p><p>Sam interrupted his thoughts suddenly, startling the poor boy quite a bit, "-ommy? Tommy?"</p><p>He blinked up at the older man, realizing he had started to stare at a wall as he thought, his friends now looking at him in concern as he came back to reality. "Yeah? Sorry big man, I just woke up." </p><p>Sam shook his head and ruffled the boys hair, causing Tommy to yell and swat at the hand, only managed to mess up his hair even more. "I asked you what you wanted in your pancakes. We have blueberries, chocolate chips, and there's also cinnamon sugar pancakes," Puffy said with a warm smile as she flipped a cinnamon sugar pancake, Sam's favorite kind.</p><p>"Chocolate chip!" Tommy decided, sounding childishly excited over such a simple thing. He immediately quieted down, straightening his posture and cursing himself for acting to childlike for his liking. </p><p>"Alright, kiddo." Sam said, not commenting or even picking up on the behavior, "Good choice, those are my second favorite." </p><p>"I'm not a kid!" Tommy immediately defended, sounding offended. </p><p>"Mhm, sure," Sam took a sip out of a mug that was sitting on the counter. Tommy felt himself rolling his eyes a bit before he changed the subject, </p><p>"Why'd you guys let me sleep in? How come no one woke me up?" </p><p>"Well, a little boy needs his sleep, doesn't he?" Sam took the opportunity to tease him again, knowing the babying annoyed him, watching as a million emotions appear on the boys face. Offense, anger, a little bit of softness at the nickname. Sam was unknowingly pushing the boy into a headspace the creeper didn't even know he had, he was just harmlessly teasing him. </p><p>Tommy gasped once he completely processed his words, "I'm not a 'little boy'! I am a big man, I don't need no sleep! Sleep is for the weak!" he claimed, now completely awake, running up to Sam and standing right in front of him, rambling angrily right in front of his face. Sam only crossed his arms, smiling in amusement. </p><p>He knew Tommy wasn't genuinely mad, he was just didn't like the teasing. No matter how much angry and offended yelling he got from the over defensive teenager, he knew he'd get a hug from him in  twenty minutes when he forgot whatever he was upset about. </p><p>Tubbo and Puffy stared between the two, their eyes moving between the two as they spoke, before they glanced at each other. Tubbo smiled widely as Puffy stifled a giggle. "I don't know Tommy, me and Sam both need sleep and we certainly aren't weak." She said, side eyeing Tubbo, who gave an offended gasp at the fact he wasn't mentioned and the implication <em>he</em> was weak. </p><p>He swatted her arm gently, "I am not weak!" He yelped out in offense as he crossed his arms and pouted, obviously being dramatic just for the effect. </p><p>"I never said you were." Puffy said, desperately trying not to laugh while moving the pancake onto it's plate and starting on Tommy's. Even though they dropped their playful antics, Sam and Tommy didn't. Sam was chasing Tommy now, following up a threat the teenager made claiming that if Sam didn't stop teasing him, he'd fight him. </p><p>The older of the two seemed to take that as a challenge</p><p>"Boys!" Puffy called out after the chasing went on for a while, "Can we maybe take a seat at the table-" </p><p>She was ignored, Tommy giggling as he jumped onto the couch, trying to climb over the back of it when the creeper hybrid pulled him down by the waist, flipping him over so that he was laying on his back. The boy tried kicking his legs out and pushing him away (not enough to genuinely hurt the man), finding himself unsuccessful as he was pinned down and tickled to death. </p><p>Well, maybe not death, but his face was red and he had laughed far to much by the time Sam was done. Sam eventually stopped, letting him breathe as he sat over him, smiling down at the teenager. "What was that about fighting me? You couldn't even get me to stop tickling you." </p><p>"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Tommy huffed, trying to find it in him to stay mad. He was smiling to much to try and be grumpy about the teasing. "You're rude, y'know." he complained.</p><p>"Sure I am," Sam smirked, getting off the couch and holding out his hand to help him up. Tommy found himself slipping from the fact that Sam was so open to being playful with him. Even when he was bigger, it was nice to be childish sometimes. By the time the two gathered themselves and got back to the kitchen, Puffy was already wrapping up her process of making pancakes and Tubbo was setting up the table for them to eat together. </p><p>Tubbo glanced up at Tommy, a bright smile on his face as he placed down one of the plates of pancakes, ones that had blueberries in them. They had to be Puffy's as Tubbo liked to have chocolate chip ones with whipped cream. Sam watched as Puffy finished with Tommy's pancakes, going up to her.</p><p>"I can clean this up for you later." he decided, talking as if the woman didn't have a choice in the matter. </p><p>She looked up at the creeper hybrid, her white bangs blocking her vision just a bit as she glanced up at him. "You don't have too," She told him, shaking her head, her curly space buns moving slightly. </p><p>Sam frowned and shook his head, "No I want too, I feel bad for not doing too much."</p><p>They didn't argue over the topic for long, eventually settling on cleaning up together after breakfast. They sat around the table, cutting into their food as they started talking of plans for the day. "So, I figured we could just spend the day here? We can watch movies, literally anything you guys want," Puffy suggested, putting butter on her pancakes as she spoke. </p><p>"You guys worked pretty hard yesterday, the hotel is almost done. We thought a break day was long overdue," Sam agreed. "Toms, you okay?" </p><p>For the third or fourth time that day, Tommy was asked if he was alright. The boy had gotten distracted and a little frustrated trying to cut up his pancakes, huffing and mumbling under his breath, almost looking <em>pouty</em> due to his inability to cut up his food himself. </p><p>Tommy looked up, shocked and confused, as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. He straightened up his back, clearing his throat before talking in a voice that was more high pitched then he wanted to admit. "Sorry, I'm just having trouble cutting my food, I'm still kinda tired." He lied. </p><p>"Even after that completely unnecessary tickle fight?" Tubbo asked, immediately reaching over and pulling the plate away from him, softly pulling the knife and fork from his hands and setting to work. Tommy found himself lightly pouting, even if he was thankful his friend was willing to help. </p><p>He just wished it wasn't so hard to do it himself. "Yeah, a little." he admitted. </p><p>"Awe," Puffy said, talking in the same teasing tone Sam had earlier, "Does the baby need more sleep?" </p><p>"Oh, shut up," Tommy huffed, ignoring the fact that he was definitely blushing, covering his face with his hands. "You all suck." he claimed.</p><p>Tubbo started to cut the boys food for him absently, not liking the idea of a sleepy teen with a war ridden mind holding a knife. He cut them into reasonable square sized pieces, looking up at Tommy when suddenly it dawned on him what was happening. He blinked slightly and his face softened just a bit as he carefully took the knife and placed it next to his own plate, giving Tommy the plate and fork. </p><p>"I don't think I suck very much since I just cut your pancakes." </p><p>Tommy blushed and grumbled at what Tubbo said, but didn't give a response back since he knew that he was right. Tubbo didn't suck at all, Tubbo was a great friend and amazing caregiver- Tommy's eyes widened at his thoughts and he quickly looked at Puffy to get away from them. </p><p>"You make pancakes a lot, why?"</p><p>Puffy seemed confused by the question, not knowing why he was suddenly changing the subject. Still, she answered him. "They're easy to make and most people like them," she shrugged. </p><p>"Hmm, okay," Tommy nodded a bit, reaching over and taking the bottle of syrup. He figured he could do this part himself, but he should've known that his little brain would inconvenience him. He accidentally mis-aimed the syrup bottle, getting the sticky liquid on the very side of his plate and mostly on the table. Tubbo gasped, quickly jumping to help him. "Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to!" he defended immediately, pouting but letting his friend wipe up the mess he made. </p><p>"I'm sorry," he repeated, looking up at Tubbo with a frown on his face. Sam and Puffy seemed confused by his behavior, but didn't comment on it, not really knowing what to say. </p><p>"You're fine, Toms. It's all clean now, don't worry," Tubbo said in a comforting voice, going to throw away the paper towels before coming to sit back down. He took the syrup, putting it on his pancakes for him before smiling at him a bit, hoping the tone and affectionate actions would help him not feel bad about the mistake.</p><p>Tommy didn't seem completely convinced that he was fine, but he ate his food anyways, not wanting to let them know he was little through whining or crying. He seemed to be oblivious to the fact that his friend had already caught on and was completely in caregiver mode. </p><p>Tubbo hummed to himself as he, like the monster he was, did not cut his pancakes, instead simply just ripping them with his fork and shoving the inconsistent bites into his mouth. Puffy looked at him like he was a monster and Sam carefully watched Tommy as he seemed to carefully coordinate each and every bite like if he didn't, the food somehow wouldn't end up in his mouth. </p><p> "I'm going to get everyone drinks," Tubbo announced as he stood up from the table, his pancakes half finished, "What does everyone want?" </p><p>Puffy smiled and shook her head, indicating that she didn't want a drink .</p><p>"Could you get me an ice water, please?" Requested Sam with a small smile towards the teenager, who nodded at the request. Tubbo looked over and Tommy, who shifted in his seat just a bit.</p><p>"Toms?" he questioned again, more directly. </p><p>"I'm good," Tommy mumbled, shaking his head a bit. Tubbo seemed skeptical. </p><p>"Are you sure?" He repeated, hoping he wasn't skipping out because he was anxious to ask for anything. </p><p>Tommy thought it over again, before answering carefully but honestly, "Can I have water, please?" he asked. He knew he was gonna have trouble drinking out of a normal cup, he was all too clumsy, but he was thirsty. </p><p>Tubbo smiled at him, "Mhm. Coming right up," he assured, before going into the main part of the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came back with two cups of cold water, setting it in front of the two who had requested it.</p><p>"Thanks, Tubs." Sam said, watching as Tubbo took the responsibility of gathering the dirty dishes. Tubbo picked up his plate, and Sam's, as he realized the man was also done with his meal, scraping the extra food into the trash can before setting them in the sink. He was suddenly being more responsible, and organized. More mature, too. </p><p>It wasn't like he wasn't already responsible, but it was kinda weird to see the sudden shift in behavior. As he seemed to get more mature, Tommy seemed to get less mature. </p><p>They really should've realized that he was regressing sooner. </p><p>Tubbo sat back down, talking about whatever Puffy and Sam talked about, Tommy staying mostly quiet, trying not to spill his drink. Every time he took a sip, he moved his hands carefully, but he still managed to get the water dribbling down from the side of his mouth. He always wiped it away quickly, but his friend still noticed the clumsiness. </p><p>Tubbo sighed as he sat back down after putting Puffy's dish in the sink, leaving only Tommy still eating, carefully leaning in just a bit towards Puffy's ear, keeping a careful eye on the regressor.</p><p>"I think he's regressing." </p><p> The sheep hybrid blinked just a little, before a smile graced her lips and she nodded softly. It made sense that both the boys would regress, and that with the behavior that Tommy had been showing, the most logical conclusion was that he was slipping. </p><p>"Do you want me to tell Sam that his boy is tiny?" </p><p> Tubbo nodded in response and she chuckled, watching carefully as Sam observed Tommy with worried eyes as the boy spilt his drink once more, carefully wiping his lip and just setting the drink down with a groan. Tommy wiped his hands on his tee-shirt, pouting a bit. </p><p> "He's regressing." She whispered to him, watching as his eyes widened and he glanced at her, his eyes searching her for any reason she'd lie, before nodding when he found none.</p><p>Tommy seemed to be completely oblivious to their conversation, tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth as he tried to focus on finishing the food on his plate without making a mess. Tubbo whispered to Puffy again. "I don't think he's been little in a while, so he might need some help slipping all the way. Can you set up a play area or something, like you do when I'm little?" </p><p>The woman nodded a bit, agreeing to the plan. She communicated this to Sam, who then talked to Tommy. "Hey, buddy, are you almost done eating?" he asked, catching his attention from across the table. Tommy paused, hesitating to respond. </p><p>Did Sam just call him buddy? Sam and Puffy pulled out the most embarrassing names while teasing him, but he just called him buddy in the midst of a normal conversation. He hadn't caught on to their guiding tones, or how they spoke ever so softly. </p><p>He hadn't caught onto the fact that they knew he was feeling small. </p><p>"I have lots of food left, but I don't think I'm hungry anymore," he wasn't lying, he almost never finished his food when he was little. Back when in the early days of L'manburg, Wilbur and Tubbo would encourage him to finish his food by promising rewards if he did. He pushed the plate forward, signifying that he was done with it. </p><p>"That's okay! You got your fill, that's what matters," Sam assured. "How about you and Tubbo pick a movie to watch while Puffy and I do some things?" </p><p>Tommy nodded a bit, assuming that they were just gonna clean up the kitchen like they mentioned earlier,"Mkay." he replied, pushing his chair out and standing up. Tubbo did the same, leading him out to the living room. </p><p>Tommy stood up and walked to the couch, well 'walk' wasn't the right word to use exactly. His steps were far too big and he looked like he has difficulty keeping balance. It was much more of a waddle than anything else, and Sam had to refrain from cooing at the boy. He had to be younger than Tubbo when he was little. </p><p>When the boy made it to the living room, Tubbo pulled him down onto the couch besides him, a book of dvds sitting in his lap, opened wide. There were a ton of different types of movies, kids movies, family movies, rom-coms, pg-13 movies and a few rated R movies, something for anyone. Tubbo, who knew the boy was slipping, expected him to choose a kids movie. He did not, in fact, expect him to stay fighting little space and pick an rated R movie. </p><p>If they were all big, he bet that he would've been okay with it, since graphic stuff didn't bother Tubbo or Tommy too much aside from some minor bits, but with Tommy having the mind of a toddler he most definitely wasn't supposed to see a movie like that. But he wasn't sure how exactly to tell the boy they couldn't watch that movie without telling him he knew that he was slipping.</p><p>"Well, I think it'd be cool if we watched this instead," Tubbo pointed to a Disney movie, 'Up', hoping Tommy would fall for the little trick. The mentally older boy knew he loved that movie. "I like that movie much more then the gory blood stuff." </p><p>Tommy thought about it, before nodding a bit. He seemed convinced that his friend just wanted to watch the kids movie, oblivious to the fact that he was trying to get him in littlespace once again. "Okay, I like that movie too." he had wanted to watch it anyways, he just didn't wanna request it since it felt to childish. But Tubbo was big, and he asked for it! </p><p>So it must be okay. </p><p>Tubbo set the movie up, Sam coming in with blankets and pillows. Tommy was a little confused when one blanket got laid out on the floor, similar to a playmat. He didn't question it though, settling in next to his friend and watching the start of the movie, leaning into Tubbo's side just a bit. </p><p>The movie distracted him completely, along with Tubbo's antics to get him not to pay attention to whatever Sam and Puffy were doing. He completely missed them setting stuffies and toys on the playmat blanket, due to the fact that he was to busy tearing up at the first few scenes of the movie. At that, Tubbo wrapped his arm around him, holding him close in a comforting way. </p><p>Tommy snuggled into the shorter boys side and watched the screen contently, his eyes watering up when Ellie died. Normally, he didn't cry when she died, it didn't bother him much, but he was a bit emotional when little. He blinked away the tears quickly, trying his hardest to make them disappear. It worked eventually, but he was obviously blinking quite unnaturally for a minute or so. Puffy restrained herself from pulling the little into her lap and telling him that it would be okay. </p><p>"Tommy, you okay, kid?" Sam said softly, as he hid his face in Tubbo's brown hair. The blonde nodded and peeked at Sam, his eyes slightly glossy, but he was obviously fine. Sam ruffled his hair a bit before taking a seat next to him. After a few minutes, Puffy joined them, coming from the kitchen with a cup in her hand. </p><p>"Toms?" she crouched in front of him, causing the boy to pout. He could no longer see the screen to watch the movie he loved oh so much. He looked at the hybrid, the pout on his face turning into a shocked expression when he saw the bottle in her hand. His face went red as he looked up at her, blushing harshly. </p><p>"W-what?" he stuttered out, looking confused and nervous. </p><p>"Come on, we know you regress too. And if you wanna do it now," Puffy outstretched her arm a little more, holding the bottle closer to him, "You can. We're all here for you." Her voice sounded promising, soft and sure, letting him know that he was okay to do this if he felt comfortable doing so. </p><p>He shifted a bit, bringing his hands up to grab the bottle, full of his favorite flavor of juice, apple juice. "You sure?" he asked, lowering the bottle to his lap, holding onto it tightly as if it'd be taken away from him at any given moment. </p><p>"Very sure, Little One." Sam told him, joining in on the conversation, "If you wanna play while you watch the movie, we set up a little play area for you." he encouraged, pointing over to the blanket on the floor, covered in coloring books, stuffed animals, toy cars. Anything a little boy like him could want. </p><p>Tommy only thought it over for a moment, before jumping up and taking his spot on the blanket, reaching for a stuffed elephant that belonged to Tubbo, along with another stuffed toy. He sat in a criss-cross position, toys in hand and bottle in his lap, getting caught up and completely distracted by the childish environment in just a few minutes.</p><p>After a while of Tommy playing by himself, moving the stuffed toys around on the blanket and narrating a story of whatever they were supposed to be doing (Sam heard something about a shopping trip and Puffy swore she heard something about the moon, so it could be anything really), Tubbo asked the boy a question. </p><p>Tubbo looked fondly at the boy on the carpet, watching as he squeezed the toys, hugging them to his chest, giggling softly. "Tommy?" He asked the little boy in front of him, Tommy looking up at him curiously and setting the stuffed animals down on the blanket in front of his legs, to make sure Tubbo knew he was paying attention. "How old are you, Toms?"</p><p>Tommy faltered, looking down at his hand. Him and Tubbo usually communicated their headspace age using finger counting, it's what worked for them. He held up two fingers after a bit of thinking. "Wow, you're so big!" Tubbo cheered playfully, causing Tommy to smile. </p><p>"So big!" he agreed, bouncing in place a bit. "To big for this," he complained, holding up the cup he had been given, "Why'd I get a bottle?" he whined. </p><p>"Just to make you slip fully," Puffy answered, jumping up and going over to him, "You don't have to use it if you don't want to. I just thought something so babyish would help you feel little." She tried to take it, only for Tommy to pull it back to his chest, pouting. </p><p>Puffy seemed confused for a moment, before chuckling a bit, tilting her head as she looked down at him. "Are you <em>really</em> to big for the bottle?" she questioned, a teasing tone layered in her voice, just like earlier that day.</p><p>Tommy only huffed, "Is mine. Wan' it," he replied, bringing it to his lips and taking a drink out of it. Puffy shook her head playfully in response to his antics, going back over to the couch once ruffling his hair, taking her seat once again. </p><p>Tommy was complaining about the bottle just to do it, he didn't really feel to big for it. It was cute, he was trying to seem more mature then he was. It was amusing to watch, honestly.</p><p>Sam thought for a bit, his eyes grazing over Tommy and looking at his dirty clothes, as he suckled on his bottle contently, and the other two in the room watched him with fond eyes.  "Tommy? How about we get you changed into some comfy clothes, bud. You haven't changed since working yesterday and you were working really hard in the yucky sun." </p><p>Tommy nodded and whined slightly,, suddenly becoming even more aware of how gross his clothes felt on his body. The denim seemed rough against his waist and legs once more, and the shirt seemed to suddenly cling to his chest. He didn't like it, it felt gross. </p><p>Sam stood up and came over to the boy, extending his hand to him, blinking a bit when the boy made grabby hands at him instead. He smiled slightly and leaned down, lifting the boy up and bouncing him just a bit as he adjusted position.</p><p>"Tubbo, do we have any of Tommy's clothes here? Or do we need to go back to his house?" He asked the brunette as he carded a hand through the little's hair.</p><p>"There should be some in the guest room he stays in, just an outfit or two," Tubbo replied, his eyes not tearing away from the TV screen. Sam nodded softly and carried Tommy down the hall, setting him on the bed once they were in said guest room. The regressor distracted himself by running his hands through his hair, swinging his legs under him and looking around the room as Sam got him an outfit. </p><p>It was just a few shirts and jeans, normal outfits he'd wear day to day. The best options for little him was the pajamas, a small pile of softer pants and baggier shirts. Sam sighed, he had to get this kid some more childish clothes. He pulled out the softer items, setting them next to Tommy once closing the drawer he pulled then out of. "Are you big enough to get these on yourself?" he questioned softly, fully prepared to help him get ready. </p><p>Tommy nodded, only a little hesitant. "If you need help, I'm right outside the door, okay?" Sam reminded as he made hi way to the exit. </p><p>Sam left after getting another nod from the boy. After a little while, Tommy opened the door, letting the older man back in. He looked adorable, his hair messed up, and the fluffy pants hugging his waist, and he was wearing his shirt inside out. "Did I do it right?" Tommy questioned hopefully, tilting his head. </p><p>The hybrid chuckled a bit, "Not quite, but that's alright." </p><p>The little pouted, but he allowed Sam to help him. He wanted to do it himself, he was supposed to be a big man! But, Sam was sure to remind him that sometimes, big men were little boys who needed help doing things. </p><p>Once helping him fix his clothes, they returned to the living room, where the movie still played across the screen. </p><p>"Puffy!" he said, squirming in the older man's arms when he saw the sheep hybrid. The woman's ears perked up and she looked over to the other boy, cooing softly at his attire and messy hair. </p><p>"Hi, baby." She called out, her voice high and sweet, reminding him vaguely of the voice Niki used for him when she and Wilbur took care of him when he was small back during the days of L'manburg. He whimpered a bit but made grabby hands for her. Sam carefully shifted the regressor and handed him to the sheep hybrid, watching as she held the boy close and he nuzzled himself into her shoulder. </p><p>Sam and Tubbo watched the two, and Tubbo felt strange. It wasn't a good or bad strange, just a odd feeling that kept his lungs just a little tight and made his eyes water just a bit. Sam and Puffy were so parental and so safe, and he couldn't help but feel slightly overwhelmed when he felt content and okay with them holding his best friend, <em>his brother</em> like that and him feeling confident nothing bad would happen to him while in his fragile state.</p><p>He hadn't trusted anyone that much in a long time. Especially with Tommy. </p><p>Tubbo took a deep breath, letting a smile appear on his face as he realized how good this was for them, as he realized that there was no reason to be anything but happy about this. They had a family. These newly found parental figures were good to them, they all cared about each other and they worked well together. </p><p>They were an unlikely quartet that clicked. They were <em>perfectly mismatched. </em></p><p>"Oh, you're hair is mess, sweetie," Puffy chuckled, running her hands through Tommy's blonde locks. </p><p>"I could braid it for him, if he'll let me," Tubbo offered, looking at Tommy, who nodded softly. "Alright, I'll be back." </p><p>When Tubbo came back, brush and a few rubber bands in hand, he was happy to see his friend still cuddled up to Puffy, smiling once again at the sight. "Come on," Tubbo spoke softly once he had sat down on the couch, ordering Tommy to sit on the carpet under it. Tommy was aided in finding his balance by Sam and Puffy, before tumbling over to the playmat blanket, where he retrieved the stuffed elephant from earlier. </p><p>He finally took his spot under Tubbo, letting his older friend take care of his hair and focusing on the movie. </p><p>Tommy relaxed his back against the couch and shifted slightly as the older boy braided his hair into a small, loose fishtail braid to keep it in place and out of the way. Sam gave the toddler his bottle, laughing slightly when the boy swiftly put the bottle in his mouth and suckled on it softly. </p><p>At first, Sam didn't really understand age regression. He didn't really get how it worked until he saw it in person and realized they were just like actual kids. Tommy was obviously on the older end of two years old as he was functional and quite verbal, but still fairly small, his hands fisting the blanket around him in a lazy way and his eyes half lidded as Tubbo finished braiding his hair, removing his hands, the loss of contact making the baby whine.</p><p>"Aww," Tubbo cooed, "Get up here, if you wanna cuddle so bad." </p><p>Tommy didn't fight against the slight teasing tone of his friend's voice, struggling to stand up and bring all of his stuff with him. He managed to climb up on the couch, settling into Tubbo's side, letting Sam lay the blanket back over him as he found a comfortable position. He set the nipple of the bottle back on his mouth, draining the last of the liquid from the bottle. </p><p>Before he even got the chance to whine about his juice being all gone, Puffy took the bottle and left to refill it, coming back a few minutes with a newly-filled bottle and a pacifier in hand, just in case. </p><p>Sam and Puffy knew these kids had their hearts in their hands, and that they cared about them more than anything. More then the prison, more then the egg, more then the problems in their world. Because amongst those problems, they found happiness in each other. </p><p>And that happiness, the familial bond they had, was enough to convince them to power through all the bad things. They helped each other heal from those traumatic events, Sam and Puffy giving Tubbo and Tommy a safe place to do exactly that. And none of them knew how to thank each other enough. </p><p>As Tommy drifted off into an early-day nap, cuddled up next to those he recognized as family, he let the bad things slip away as he fell further and further into the homely warmth having a happy family brought him. </p><p>
  <em>He was happy here, and so was everyone else. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>please, please, please leave feedback in the comments, it truly means the world.<br/>Do you like that we made Tommy a little too? Do you like how we wrote Little Tommy? Are there any major differences you're noticing in our combined writing style vs my usual one, do you like these changes? Elmer wants to know if you guys like how we made Tommy a younger regressor, and if you wanna see us dive a little more into their past? Would you like to see us go more into Tommy's babyspace (write him regressed younger) and Tubbo's kiddospace?<br/>Also, did you like seeing Tubbo take a caregivery role?<br/>You can also scream about your favorite bit, or talk about what you wanna see in future chapters of this fic/request something, or even leave a strand of emojis to describe your thoughts if you're to awkward to say much. Either way, thanks for taking time out of your day to read this!<br/>also elmer says have a nice day, and I second that!<br/>-Apple</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>please, please leave feedback in the comments!<br/>Did you guys like the different writing style that comes with mashing mine with Elmer's? Do we clash together well as writers? What was your favorite scene or bit? What's something you'd like to see in the next chapters between our newly formed quartet?<br/>Feel free to answer these questions, or just state any other thoughts you have, in the comments! Both of us would love to hear what you think and what you wanna see out of this fic! You can leave a detailed analysis essay or just a strand of emojis to communicate your feelings on our writing. Either way, the support is appreciated. Kudo's work, too!<br/>Thanks for reading, we'll see you in the next chapter!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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